


one is the loneliest number (two can be as bad as one)

by symphony7inAmajor



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: 5+1 Things, Accidental Voyeurism, Anal Sex, Angst, Established Relationship, Getting Together, M/M, Masturbation, Pining, Threesome - M/M/M, Unrequited Love, but also horny, haha unless....?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:20:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21852538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/symphony7inAmajor/pseuds/symphony7inAmajor
Summary: Kyle doesn'tmeanto keep walking in on Patrik and Nikolaj, but he can't seem to stop.He can't seem to stop himself from falling for them, either.(what do you do when you're in love with two of your teammates—who happen to be in love with each other?)
Relationships: Kyle Connor/Nikolaj Ehlers/Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers/Patrik Laine
Comments: 13
Kudos: 112





	one is the loneliest number (two can be as bad as one)

**Author's Note:**

> 5 times kc walks in on patrik and nikolaj and 1 time he uh. well. doesn't,
> 
> this concept came to me for no reason in the middle of the night like last week so i banged out WAY too much content for it. uh. sorry.
> 
> basically i just wanted kc to get rekt but as all know. my brand leaves me no choice but to make things sad.
> 
> also thanks to ms kendall raregoose for saying "kc dicking nikolaj while patrik dicks down kc for maximum kc enjoyment"
> 
> wish i knew how to attach an image but just imagine: it doesn't have to be like this when it can be like this patrik has 2 hands dot jpeg
> 
> title from "one" by three dog night

1.

“What the  _ fuck.” _

Kyle should really have known better than to go into the laundry room at Blake’s house without knocking. In his defense, his head was starting to hurt and he needed a break.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t been the only one trying to find somewhere quiet. 

“Uh,” Patrik says. Belatedly, he takes his hand out of Nikolaj’s pants. 

Nikolaj doesn’t turn around, hiding his face in Patrik’s chest out of embarrassment. Kyle can see his ears through the mess of his hair, flaming red with humiliation.

“Seriously,” Kyle says, and he pulls the door shut. 

He stays there for about three seconds, then he hears a high pitched noise that he’s  _ pretty _ sure comes from Nikolaj and he nearly sprints back to the living room.

Kyle is sitting on the couch and working on his third beer when he lets himself think about what he saw. 

Like, he knows Nikolaj and Patrik are together. He’d been one of the first people they told. He had forced a smile and told them he was happy for them, and he’d watched the way Patrik looked at Nikolaj, and something cracked inside him.

He hasn’t let it fuck up anything on the ice because it hadn’t before, when he’d known Nikolaj was in love with Patrik and that Patrik loved him back, but sometimes Patrik would look at Kyle like—like  _ something. _ Kyle still doesn’t know. 

It doesn’t matter anymore anyway, because it hadn’t been  _ anything. _ Obviously. It was just Kyle projecting his hope. 

He sips his beer and slumps deeper into the couch. 

He’s been trying to get over it and mostly succeeding—so he tells himself—but seeing Patrik with his hair messy from Nikolaj’s hands, his face flushed and his eyes dark and the protective arm he had around Nikolaj’s waist, like he wanted to put a barrier between him and Kyle, makes everything Kyle had tried to push down surge back to the front of his mind. 

They come back to the party before Kyle finishes his beer. He watches them carefully, hoping they don’t notice him. He doesn’t know if he’ll be able to say anything normal if they try talking to him right now.

Nikolaj grabs a beer and tucks himself into Patrik’s side, taking a sip. If anyone else were to look at them, it’d be hard to tell that they were just hooking up. 

Kyle knows what he’s looking at though, and he can see it. 

There’s a hickey just barely peeking out of Nikolaj’s shirt collar and one of Patrik’s shirt buttons isn’t done up. They’re standing too close, one of Patrik’s fingers hooked through one of Nikolaj’s belt loops. He’s not really pulling, but Nikolaj is leaning toward him anyway.

Kyle decides he’s seen enough for tonight. He downs the rest of his beer and stands up to leave.    


His movement catches Nikolaj’s eye and they make eye contact from across the room. Nikolaj’s eyes widen a little bit and a blush rises on his cheeks. He opens his mouth like he means to call out and Kyle turns away before he can.

He says goodbye to Blake, tells him he’s not feeling well and is heading home. Blake nods and tells him to get some rest and feel better soon. He gives Kyle a quick hug before he goes and Kyle feels guilt surge in his chest from lying to his captain.

He pushes it down and goes outside.

The fresh air helps to clear his head and Kyle walks all the way home. 

2.

Kyle doesn’t, like,  _ try _ to avoid Patrik and Nikolaj after that. It’s just that whenever he sees them, he remembers what happened at Blake’s house and it stings and he’s reminded of everything he can’t have and—

Okay, maybe he  _ is _ trying to avoid them.

There are only so many times he can make up excuses to keep from going out with the team though, so a couple weeks later he finds himself alone in a booth at a club in Florida. The rest of the guys are out on the dancefloor or getting drinks, leaving Kyle alone. 

He stirs his drink with the tiny umbrella. It’s hard to tell in the dim light, but the umbrella is blue. Like Patrik’s eyes, Kyle thinks absently. Then, like Nikolaj’s, too. He shoves all thoughts of blue eyes out of his head and chugs the rest of the drink. 

His  _ own _ eyes are blue. There’s no reason to get all mushy about it.

Nikolaj slips into the booth beside him and bumps their shoulders together. Kyle jumps in surprise, almost choking on his drink and coughing into his arm. 

“Sorry,” Nikolaj says awkwardly. “I, um. Didn’t mean to surprise you.” 

“It’s fine,” Kyle wheezes. He clears his throat and takes a deep breath, recovering quickly. “So. What’s up, man?” 

Nikolaj isn’t looking him in the eye. He has his hands folded on the table and he’s staring at them like they hold all the answers. He’s blushing, obvious even here. 

“Fly? Are you okay?” Kyle nudges his knee against Nikolaj’s to get his attention.

Nikolaj flinches. “Yes! Yeah, sorry, I’m—yeah. I’m okay. I just wanted to, uh, talk to you. I haven’t really seen you off the ice in a while, so. You know.” He finally looks at Kyle and smiles. It’s one of his wide, toothy grins, his pointy teeth catching the flashing lights. He still looks a little shy, though, like he’s got something else to say.   


Kyle leaves his leg against Nikolaj’s and runs his finger around the rim of his glass. “Something else on your mind?” he asks. 

Nikolaj sighs almost explosively. “I wanted to apologize,” he says, and Kyle blinks. 

That’s not what he expected.   


“Uh,” Kyle says. 

“For, you know.” Nikolaj waves his hands like that explains everything. He’s blushing even harder. 

Kyle thinks that he could feel how hot his skin is if he reached out and touched his face. Kyle’s entire body twitches at that thought and he pulls his leg away from Nikolaj as subtly as he can. It must not be as subtle as he hoped, because Nikolaj’s face falls. 

“If this is about that time at Blake’s,” Kyle starts. 

“Yeah,” Nikolaj says, “that. I just—it was embarrassing for all of us. We were stupid—me and Patrik—and I wanted to say sorry, especially because—” Nikolaj cuts himself off abruptly, his mouth slamming shut so fast that his teeth click together audibly.

“Especially because  _ what?” _ Kyle asks. 

Nikolaj looks like he wishes he hadn’t said anything. He scoots away from Kyle like he’s trying to make a break for it. “Oh, nothing,” Nikolaj says. “I gotta, uh. Go.” With that, he slides out of the booth and disappears into the crowd. 

Kyle stares in the direction Nikolaj went. He thinks about going after him and demanding answers, but instead he gets up and goes to buy another drink. 

Jack finds him at the bar and demands they do shots, so Kyle entertains his whims for a little while. 

“I should go, um, back,” Jack says eventually. His face is twisted uncomfortably. He’s not quite standing up straight.

“Okay, okay,” Kyle says, patting Jack’s shoulder. “I’m gonna take a piss and then I’ll go back with you. Gimme a minute.” 

Jack nods agreeably and rests his forehead on the bar. Kyle winces at the thought of what kinds of substances Jack’s putting his face in, then forgets about it as he follows the glowing bathroom signs.

He  _ notices _ as soon as he steps into the bathroom. The farthest stall is shut, but there are two shadows under the door. Kyle rolls his eyes. 

He ignores it at first but while he’s washing his hands, a high pitched and  _ familiar _ noise comes from the stall. It echoes in the silent bathroom. 

If Kyle were sober, he wouldn’t say anything. He’d dry his hands, get out and try not to think about what’s happening in that stall. 

But Kyle isn’t sober.

“Jesus Christ,” Kyle says, too loud, “are you guys allergic to bedrooms or some shit?” 

“Sorry!” Nikolaj says, his voice almost a squeak.

Based on Patrik’s lack of response, Kyle can make a pretty good guess about what he’s doing—sucking Nikolaj’s dick, probably, on his knees on the disgusting floor making Nikolaj’s thighs shake and his knees weak and—

Kyle doesn’t say anything else and doesn’t bother drying his hands, and he hurries back to Jack and drags him back to the hotel. 

Fortunately, Jack is drunk out of his mind. If he wasn’t, he’d probably ask why Kyle is acting so weird which, frankly, Kyle doesn’t know the answer to either.

Kyle makes sure Jack is safe and sound back in his room before he stumbles into the room he shares with Patrik. He strips off his clothes—his shirt has a boozy smelling stain on it—and gets into the shower. 

The water is hot, the lights are low and Kyle is drunk, so it feels right to close his eyes and reach down to stroke his cock. 

As usual, his thoughts turn to Patrik. He knows he shouldn’t, but he can’t help it. He bites down hard on his lower lip and strokes himself faster, thinking about Patrik’s hands tying his skates, Patrik’s shoulders in his tight under armour, Patrik’s intense eyes on the ice, Patrik’s big hands on Nikolaj’s narrow waist, Nikolaj’s  _ noises— _

Kyle comes with a gasp, legs trembling as he strokes himself through his orgasm. 

He stands under the spray until all the evidence is washed away, then gets out and dries off. The mirror is fogged with steam and Kyle wipes a spot clean. His reflection stares back judgmentally.

He brushes his teeth and goes to bed, curled up under the blankets and his back to the door. 

Patrik gets back about half an hour later. He showers and gets into bed quietly. 

“KC?” Patrik says, soft.

Kyle pretends to be asleep, and Patrik doesn’t say anything else.

3.

They clinch playoffs against Nashville. 

It’s probably one of Kyle’s favorite games ever. Connor gets a shutout, Kyle gets a hat trick and they’ve clinched in a blowout win against a division rival at home, their fans screaming for them as the clock winds down as Kyle nets his third off a pass from Patrik. 

Patrik doesn’t get to him first when they celly, but he pulls Kyle close into his side and grins at him wildly and Kyle can’t help but laugh, the sound almost surprised. He still can’t quite believe it’s real, even with the hats raining down around him. 

He fistbumps the bench, unable to wipe the grin off his face. Nikolaj high fives him with extra enthusiasm, beaming like  _ he’s _ the one who scored a hat trick. Kyle’s heart flutters confusingly at it and his own smile slips a bit. Nikolaj notices, his grin fading into an expression of uncertainty. 

Kyle tears his eyes away from Nikolaj and skates down the line. 

The locker room is electric after the win and the guys do a good job at distracting Kyle from his inner turmoil. Adam lifts him up and spins him around, then smacks a noisy kiss to his forehead when he’s finished, scrubbing a hand through Kyle’s red hair before heading to the showers. 

Eventually, everyone starts to clear out. Kyle packs up his things and heads out to his car. 

He’s about halfway there when he realizes that he left his wallet and keys in his locker. He curses himself for being an idiot and spins on his heel. 

Somebody’s still in the shower when he gets back in the locker room. Two somebodies, actually, because Kyle can hear hushed voices. 

It’s weird, Kyle thinks. After a win like that, he figures guys would be shouting at each other, even if it’s just a couple of them. He shrugs to himself and grabs his stuff.

Before going back outside, he decides to say goodbye to whoever’s still here. 

When he looks into the showers, the words die in his throat. 

Part of his mind scolds him because he  _ should’ve known, _ and maybe he did and just didn’t want to acknowledge it, but it’s too late now.

Nikolaj is pressed up against the tile wall, his hands scrabbling against the slippery surface. Patrik is plastered along his back, leaving biting kisses on his shoulders and neck. One of his hands is holding Nikolaj up by the waist. His other hand, Kyle guesses, is busy jerking Nikolaj off.

They’re not actually fucking—couldn’t be, not in the showers—but from the way they’re moving together, Kyle’s pretty sure that Patrik is fucking Nikolaj’s thighs.

Patrik starts  _ talking _ and suddenly Kyle remembers where he is. He unfreezes and staggers back, trying not to let them know he’s there. 

He leaves the locker room with Patrik’s voice still in his head, everything he’d been saying to Nikolaj making him feel shaky and unsteady. He’d been telling Nikolaj how good he is, how he feels, how he wishes he could fuck him properly and Nikolaj had let go of the wall and sagged back against Patrik, blue eyes closed and his soft, pink lips parted as he panted in Patrik’s arms.

Kyle drives home too fast, almost runs up to his apartment and jerks off in the bathroom.    


He stares at his reflection. His face is flushed, his eyes are dark and wild, and his lips are bitten because he tried to keep himself quiet. He turns away from his reflection, ashamed. 

It was bad enough when he was jerking off to the thought of one teammate, but now he gets off to the thought of two of them  _ together.  _ Kyle gets in the shower and washes himself off under water that’s too hot. 

All the bubbly joy of scoring the hat trick has turned into a cold, heavy lump in his chest. He’s ashamed and lonely and he wants—well. He wants too much. 

He gets into bed and stares into the dark. His bed feels too big, suddenly, and he takes his spare pillows and stacks them around himself until the feeling goes away.

It doesn’t, not really, but he hugs a pillow close to his chest and pretends he can smell someone else’s shampoo until he falls asleep. 

4.

It isn’t the first time Kyle’s lost in the playoffs, but it doesn’t sting any less this time around. 

Kyle tries to untie his skates, after, but his hands are shaking too much and he can’t do it. He buries his face in his hands, trying to get his breathing under control. His beard scrapes against his palms and he remembers that he has to shave it tonight. 

Just another reminder of their loss.

Unfamiliar hands undo the knots of his laces, then squeeze his calves gently, comfortingly. 

Kyle makes sure he isn’t going to humiliate himself by crying before uncovering his face.

Patrik looks back at him. His electric blue eyes are suspiciously bright, but warm as he lets go of Kyle’s legs and stands up. He drops a hand into Kyle’s hair, ignoring the sweatiness, and scratches his fingernails over Kyle’s scalp.

Kyle is too tired, too upset, and he can’t bring himself to hide the way his entire body shivers before relaxing. The way his eyes slip halfway shut. His soft sigh. 

Patrik’s hand falls from his hair and he walks away. Kyle watches him go, something tight and painful in his throat. 

Nikolaj is still in his skates and he stands up when Patrik gets close to him. Patrik pulls him into a tight hug and Nikolaj’s arms wrap around his waist as he buries his face in Patrik’s chest. His shoulders are shaking a little, and Patrik rubs his back until he calms down.

Kyle looks away before anyone notices him watching and finishes getting undressed. 

Back at the hotel, a bunch of the guys go to Mark’s room to sit around and wallow in their misery. Kyle leans against the headboard of Mark’s bed and rests his head on Jack’s shoulder.

Nobody says much and the TV stays off. There isn’t much to talk about.

The loss is still too fresh. Everyone is thinking about their own mistakes, plays they should’ve made and plays they shouldn’t have made, but talking about it right now will only make them feel worse.

Jack leaves eventually, and Kyle stays huddled in the pillows feeling colder and colder. 

He’s half asleep when Mark settles beside him. Neither of them say anything, but Mark pulls him into a hug and holds him until he stops feeling quite so fragile.

“You been doing okay?” Mark asks finally. He tightens his grip on Kyle before he can pull away. “Hey, I just want to help. I’m your A, remember?”

“Can you—can you not be my A right now?” Kyle’s voice is humiliatingly small.

“‘Course,” Mark says. “What’s going on with you?”

Kyle exhales a shuddering sigh, wincing at the burning sting of tears behind his eyes. “I’m, um. I have feelings for two people,” he says all in a rush, and it’s such a relief to get that off his chest that he releases tension he didn’t even know he had. “They’re, uh, they’re together, though. I don’t—I don’t know. It hurts.” His voice cracks. 

“Oh,” Mark says quietly. He squeezes Kyle carefully, like he might break. Kyle knows Mark knows who he’s talking about. “I’m sorry.” He doesn’t bother with platitudes or meaningless words of comfort and Kyle is grateful for that.

“Yeah.” Kyle lies there for a while longer, until Mark falls asleep and he can extricate himself carefully from his friend’s arms.

Kyle doesn’t knock before letting himself into the room. Patrik’s either sleeping or, more likely, in Nikolaj’s room. He doesn’t let himself think about what he might be doing in Nikolaj’s room, then he enters the room properly and realizes he doesn’t need to imagine anything.

Patrik and Nikolaj are in Patrik’s bed—of course they are. They probably thought Kyle would be out later and Kyle didn’t say he’d be back.

Nikolaj is straddling Patrik, riding him slowly with his head tossed back. The room is lit only by the orange street lamps outside, making everything shadowy and blurred. 

Kyle feels something roar in his ears, but it doesn’t stop him from hearing their ragged breathing, Nikolaj’s hitching moans, the slick sound of skin on skin—

Patrik sees him.

Patrik is  _ looking at him, _ the blue of his eyes impossible to see in the dark but glinting with the reflection of the street lights. His hands grip Nikolaj’s hips tighter and he stares straight at Kyle and Kyle stumbles back out of the room and down the hall. 

Mark opens the door when he knocks, a question on his lips that dies when he sees the way Kyle’s chin wobbles. 

Kyle curls up in Mark’s bed and lets Mark hold him while silent tears slip down his cheeks.

They lost, yes. But  _ Kyle _ lost, too, and even if he isn’t sure what it is that he lost, the pain of it is impossible to ignore.

5.

Mark wakes him up and reminds him that he has to get his things to make the bus call. Kyle hugs him before he goes, hoping Mark understands what he can’t say with words. Mark hugs him back hard enough that the air rushes out of Kyle’s lungs and he knows that Mark knows.

Patrik and Nikolaj are sleeping when Kyle gets back to his room. The blankets are pulled up high, but it’s obvious how close they’re holding each other. That cold, lonely ache sits heavy in Kyle’s gut.

He wishes he could slide under the blankets with them, let Patrik pull him into their warmth and tuck his nose into Nikolaj’s soft hair. He thinks Nikolaj would wake up and, sleepy and warm, press a clumsy kiss to whatever part of him he can reach.

Kyle turns away from them and goes to shower off his misery. He shaves his beard, leaving his face pale and smooth, and he steps out of the bathroom to get some clothes.

He realizes too late that he should have alerted them that he was coming out, but they’re not fucking for once.

Actually, this might be worse.

Patrik is propping himself up on one elbow, his other hand curled around Nikolaj’s jaw. Nikolaj is holding onto Patrik’s shoulders almost desperately, soft noises unsuccessfully muffled by Patrik’s mouth.

They’re kissing, slow and deep and intense enough that Kyle’s chest aches.

Patrik pulls away to catch his breath and Nikolaj whines, trying to lean up to chase Patrik’s mouth. His eyes open slightly, the blue swallowed by black, and he looks up at Patrik through his blond eyelashes until Patrik kisses him again.

Kyle wants to make a quick retreat to the bathroom, maybe sit in the bathtub until he knows Nikolaj is gone and have nobody notice him, but his shampoo bottle slips out of his hand and hits the floor with a  _ thump. _

They jerk apart instantly, turning to look at Kyle with matching startled expressions. 

It would be funny if it weren’t so humiliating. 

“Sorry,” Kyle says hoarsely, “I’ll, um. Yeah.”

He goes back into the bathroom and locks the door before they can see him cry again.

Kyle sits with Jack on the bus and on the plane and says stiff goodbyes to everyone. 

Nobody seems to know what to say. He doesn’t even know if he’ll be here in the fall. If Patrik will be here. 

Nikolaj clings to Patrik for a long time. They’ll see each other again before they go back to Europe—they’ll probably see each other there, too, but Kyle knows it isn’t the same. 

Kyle doesn’t interrupt their moment to say goodbye. 

He goes back to his apartment alone and starts packing that night.    


+1.

Summer is longer than Kyle hopes. The season ended too early, and he doesn’t get a contract for much longer than he would have liked.   


He gets an offer sheet. He thinks about it for a long time, and in the end he doesn’t sign it. 

Even if Patrik doesn’t sign with the Jets, Kyle still wants to be in Winnipeg. He wants to have his team, the city that’s become his, and he’d still have Nikolaj. He could never really  _ have _ Nikolaj, not in the way he wants, but it’d be better than nothing.

He talks to Nikolaj over the summer, more than he has in the past. Nikolaj doesn’t ask about his contract and doesn’t talk to him about Patrik’s, and Kyle is grateful for it. Instead, Nikolaj tells him about his training, his family, his travels, and sends Kyle enough pictures of his baby nephew to fill a photo album. It’s cute. Kyle never even thinks about asking him to ease up. 

Then, at the end of September, Patrik signs for two years. 

Kyle signs for seven the next day.

He has to do media once he’s back in town, but he gets to see Patrik first. They barely talked over the summer, busy schedules and contract uncertainty leaving time for a few brief text exchanges. Kyle hopes more than anything that it won’t be awkward.

The summer melts away when he sees Patrik, and it dissolves entirely when Patrik meets his gaze. His eyes light up and he grins, striding close to Kyle and pulling him into a warm hug. 

“Oh,” Kyle says, surprised, before he remembers himself and returns the hug. He tucks his face subtly into Patrik’s shoulder and breathes him in. 

Patrik steps back, still holding Kyle’s shoulders, still smiling. “You look good,” he says. “I’m happy you’re back.”   


Kyle blushes a little. He doesn’t know what to say, exactly. He looks at Patrik, strong and lean after summer with a new haircut and scruffy facial hair that actually suits him. “You too,” Kyle says. “Um, I mean. Me too? You know what I mean.” He bites the inside of his cheek.

He’d hoped, probably stupidly, that a summer of minimal contact would help relieve the intensity of his feelings around Patrik.

Apparently not.

“Yeah,” Patrik says, smiling softly, “I know.” 

Kyle thinks about that while he does his interviews, Patrik’s soft smile stuck in his head as he tries to talk to reporters. He’s seen that smile before and he’s seen it a lot, but he’s never seen it directed at him.

While Patrik does his media, Kyle wonders if he and Nikolaj are alright.

The thought doesn’t bring him the hope it might have—selfishly—brought him a year ago. Instead, he feels a cold, sinking horror at the idea that they might have broken up or at least be in a fight.

He waits around for Patrik to be done media, then he falls into step beside him. 

“Hey,” he says after a moment. He pauses for a second, not sure how to bring it up. He decides to just go for it and asks, “Are you and Fly okay?” 

Patrik stops walking and looks at him strangely. “Yes?” he answers. He raises an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

“I, um. I don’t know. I just—yeah, sorry.” He bites the inside of his cheek and reminds himself to shut up sometimes.

“You should come over to Nikolaj’s tonight,” Patrik says, breezing past the awkwardness with that ease that Kyle admires so much. “Have dinner with us, catch up. It’ll be nice.” 

“Oh, no, I don’t want to, um, impose,” Kyle says awkwardly. He doesn’t know how to get out of this without saying,  _ no, sorry, if I have to third wheel your dinner date and watch you be all cute together then I might just die.  _ He says nothing.

“You won’t,” Patrik tells him confidently. “I’ll tell Nikolaj you’re coming at six. I’ll leave the door open for you.”

“Er,” Kyle says, but Patrik is already gone.

For lack of anything else to do, Kyle goes home for the rest of the afternoon. He unpacks his stuff, but then he has nothing to do but wait until it’s time to go to Nikolaj’s place.

It doesn’t take him long to get there but he sits in the parking lot in his car for a while, wondering if it’s too late to turn around.

He gets out of the car and goes inside eventually. As much as it hurts him to be around them sometimes, he can’t help how much he  _ wants _ to be around them so much. 

The door is unlocked, just like Patrik said it would be. For a second, Kyle worries that he’s going to walk in on them fucking  _ again, _ even though they know he’s coming at six. 

He feels bad for assuming that when he takes his shoes off and steps inside and sees them in the kitchen, just cooking. Their heads are bent close together and Nikolaj is tapping a finger against a scrap of paper, saying something about salt.

Kyle clears his throat. “Hi,” he says. 

Both of them look over and smile when they see him. Patrik’s crooked grin and Nikolaj’s wide, toothy smile. He can’t help but smile back. 

“Hey,” Nikolaj says.

“Hi,” Patrik says. His grin turns mischievous. “Come on, I need you to help me convince Nikolaj that we don’t need this much salt.” 

_ “Excuse _ me,” Nikolaj says, planting his hands on his hips. “No, KC, tell Patrik he’s wrong. I wrote this down so we’d remember to use the exact amount that we liked last time I made this.” 

Kyle plucks the paper out of Nikolaj’s hand, ignoring his outraged noise. He inspects the actual recipe thoughtfully, then grabs the salt and a measuring spoon. He dumps in an amount of salt halfway between what Nikolaj’s note says and what the recipe says. 

“There,” he says mildly, “problem solved.” 

“Hmm.” Nikolaj shoots a weirdly smug look at Patrik, but then he smiles quickly and moves on to whatever the next step is.

Patrik touches Kyle’s lower back briefly, pushing him towards a cutting board. “Can you make salad? I know you’re technically the guest, but—”

“No, yeah, sure,” Kyle says, alarms going off in his brain at the feeling of Patrik’s hand on his back, warm even through his shirt. Kyle hopes Patrik doesn’t notice the way his breathing stutters.

Patrik pats his shoulder absently and leaves him with the vegetables.

Kyle feels a little bit like he’s dreaming. He focuses enough on the food he’s chopping so he doesn’t accidentally cut off any fingers, but the rest of him is distracted thinking about the way Patrik touched him. 

“Watch out,” Nikolaj murmurs, interrupting his thoughts. Nikolaj’s fingers press against his waist as he leans up on his tiptoes to grab something from a high cupboard. Kyle doesn’t notice what it is because he’s busy trying to control the way his face flushes bright red at the casual touch.

“Um, Fly,” Kyle says. Something hot burns in his chest.

“Yeah?” Nikolaj gets whatever it was he was looking for and settles back onto the floor. His hand is still on Kyle’s waist and he’s still standing too close. He’s only an inch shorter than Kyle, but his face is tilted up just a bit to meet Kyle’s eyes. 

Kyle’s gaze flicks helplessly to Nikolaj’s mouth before returning to his blue eyes, quick enough that he hopes Nikolaj misses it. “Nothing,” he says, “nevermind.” He turns back to his task and shifts his weight away from Nikolaj, enough that Nikolaj’s hand slips away from him.

“Oh,” Nikolaj says. He hovers for a second, his hand still in the air between them, then he goes back to finish making his own food.

They eat at Nikolaj’s kitchen table, which is designed to be comfortable for two regular sized people but is way too small for three men who are all at least six feet tall. Kyle can’t help his knees from bumping against Patrik and Nikolaj and their feet get tangled up under the table enough that Kyle hooks his ankles around the legs of his chair to keep it from happening.

They talk about summer, about camp, about the season. It’s easy and comfortable and Kyle forgets his earlier awkwardness as he and Nikolaj laugh at one of Patrik’s stories about Mikko when they were in Switzerland.

Kyle helps clean up, then stands around uncertainly when he’s done. He doesn’t know if he should leave or if Nikolaj and Patrik have something else planned.

“Go sit on the couch,” Patrik tells him. He glances at Nikolaj. “We’ll be a minute.”

Kyle does what he’s told, waiting on the couch with his hands folded together too tight. He knows Patrik and Nikolaj are talking in the kitchen. He can hear their soft voices, but they’re too quiet for him to make out anything specific.

He has a feeling they’re talking about him, though.

Like Patrik promised, it’s only a minute before they join him in the living room. Nikolaj sits beside him on the couch and Patrik sits in the armchair across from them.

“We wanted to ask you something,” Patrik starts. His face is unusually serious and his eyes are heavy on Kyle’s face. “If you say no, that’s okay.”

Kyle can’t take the suspense. “What is it?” he asks, nerves twisting in his belly. 

Nikolaj reaches over and grabs one of his trembling hands, then, as if he’s making a point, laces his fingers through Kyle’s.

Kyle stares at their hands, then at Nikolaj’s face, pink with a soft blush but his eyes still fierce, then at Patrik. Patrik tilts his head at Kyle as if to say  _ your move. _

“You want—what  _ do _ you want?” Kyle asks. 

“You,” Patrik answers, like it’s easy, like it doesn’t keep him awake at night. 

Nikolaj offers a little more explanation. “We know you’ve, um. Seen us. A few times.” He looks embarrassed, but pushes on regardless. “And we’ve seen the way you look at us sometimes and maybe we’re just making it up, but we want you.”

“You’re not making it up,” Kyle breathes, and that admission makes him flush red. “But how? How do you want me, I mean, because I, uh. I want a lot.” He looks away. “Maybe more than you can give me.”

Nikolaj’s fingers are warm on his cheek as he turns Kyle back to face him, but it’s Patrik who speaks.   


“We want everything with you,” he says, and the tone of his voice makes Kyle shiver.

Nikolaj grins his pointy grin. “We really like you,” he says softly. 

“Well,” Kyle says, breathless like he’s falling, “that’s good. Because I really like you guys, too.” 

Nikolaj tips forward a little, then he pauses. “Can I?” he asks, eyes a little wild. He brushes his thumb over Kyle’s lower lip like it isn’t obvious what he wants.

“Please,” Kyle breathes, and then Nikolaj is kissing him.

He’s seen Nikolaj kiss before—mostly Patrik—but being on the receiving end is a lot different than watching. 

Nikolaj’s hand slides from his face as he winds his arms around Kyle’s neck and pulls him closer, his sharp teeth nipping at Kyle’s lower lip. Kyle grabs his waist to steady himself and Nikolaj makes a soft noise into his mouth.

A hand lands in Kyle’s hair, but it’s not Nikolaj’s. He pulls away from Nikolaj and blinks up at Patrik. Nikolaj doesn’t seem bothered, taking the opportunity to lean in to Kyle’s exposed neck and press his lips to the pulse point under his ear.

Kyle can’t help the noise he makes at Nikolaj’s mouth on his skin and because he’s looking at Patrik, he sees Patrik’s sharp intake of breath, his wide eyes, and his hand tightens in Kyle’s hair.

Patrik leans down and presses a bruising kiss to Kyle’s lips, dislodging Nikolaj’s teeth from the spot where he’d been determinedly trying to leave a hickey. Nikolaj grumbles a little, but Kyle reaches out to him and fists his hand in the front of Nikolaj’s shirt, pulling him close as Patrik slips his tongue into Kyle’s mouth.

Nikolaj plasters himself to Kyle’s side and hooks his chin over his shoulder, wrapping his arms around Kyle’s waist as he whispers in Kyle’s ear about how good Patrik’s kisses are.

Eventually, Patrik pulls away with one last kiss and straightens up. Nikolaj busies himself with pressing light kisses along the side of Kyle’s neck.

“We can stop now if you want,” Patrik offers. “We don’t have to do more than this tonight if you want to wait.” His eyes are dark and he can’t seem to stop looking at Kyle’s mouth, but Kyle knows that he means it—that they wouldn’t mind if Kyle wanted to take it slow. 

Kyle still hasn’t managed to catch his breath, but he reaches up with the hand that isn’t tangled in Nikolaj’s shirt to pull Patrik down on top of him. Patrik obviously wasn’t expecting it, because he lands hard and the breath whooshes out of Kyle.

“I want,” Kyle says, and he doesn’t know exactly how to articulate what he wants right now so he arches up and kisses Patrik again.

Patrik pushes him against the couch cushions and kisses him hard. Nikolaj’s hands seem to be everywhere, pushing under Kyle’s shirt to stroke the soft skin of his belly, Kyle’s hair, his face, and Kyle turns to capture his lips in another kiss. He moans into it as Patrik sucks a bruise into his throat.

Kyle drops his head back as Patrik pulls Nikolaj away from him so they can kiss. Kyle has seen them kiss a lot, but this is different. More intimate. They move together with a familiarity and ease that makes bubbly warmth rise in Kyle’s chest.

“C’mon,” Nikolaj mumbles, still mostly into Patrik’s mouth. “I don’t wanna fuck on the couch again. Not for his first time.” 

Kyle opens his mouth to point out that this isn’t his first time before his brain catches up and he realizes that Nikolaj means his first time with them. He softens. 

Nikolaj must notice his expression, because he leans down to kiss his cheek. “We want to treat you right,” he says, his tone only half teasing.

Patrik pushes off the couch to let Kyle up and the three of them make their way to Nikolaj’s bedroom. Patrik doesn’t bother taking his time with his clothes, his shirt off before he’s even through the door.

Before Kyle has a chance to reach out and touch, Nikolaj presses up against his back and tucks his hands under Kyle’s shirt.

“Get your clothes off, come on,” he says, tugging up until Kyle lifts his arms so Nikolaj can pull the shirt over his head. He drops it unceremoniously on the floor before stripping out of his own shirt.

Patrik steps up to him, tilting Kyle’s face up with a finger under his chin, then he leans down and kisses him. It’s different like this, the three of them half naked and Patrik’s warm skin pressed against his.

Patrik touches his hair, his face, his shoulders, down his chest, then settles on his waist and pulls him impossibly closer. “You’re so,” Patrik says, thumbs digging into Kyle’s skin. 

“So?” Kyle asks, waiting for an answer.    


Patrik touches his cheek, letting Kyle press into the caress. “Beautiful,” he murmurs, tucking a loose strand of Kyle’s hair behind his ear and kissing him sweetly.

Nikolaj reaches around Kyle’s waist and undoes the button of his jeans and slowly unzips the fly. He brushes a light hand over Kyle’s cock, laughing quietly at the noise he makes, then he hooks his fingers into the waistband of Kyle’s jeans and boxers and pushes them down.

Kyle steps out of his pants, still kissing Patrik, and he shivers as Nikolaj’s fingers ghost over his legs as he stands back up. 

He frowns as Patrik pushes him away gently, but Nikolaj doesn’t give him time to feel lonely. Nikolaj pulls Kyle to the bed and shoves him onto the mattress, then climbs on top of him to kiss him, hot and messy.

Gripping Nikolaj’s waist, Kyle pulls him down as he rocks up and grinds their hips together. Nikolaj moans at the friction on his cock, the same high pitched noise that Kyle has heard before. He feels smug that  _ he _ got Nikolaj to make that sound.

Kyle rolls them over so he’s on top of Nikolaj and settles between his legs. Nikolaj tips his head back invitingly and Kyle scrapes his teeth over the pale skin of his throat. He wants to leave marks on Nikolaj so he can see them later and remember that this was real.

Finished getting undressed, Patrik gets his hand in Kyle’s hair again. He tugs a little and makes him gasp against Nikolaj’s skin, then pulls him up to kiss him. His fingers brush over Kyle’s chest, callused fingertips stroking over his nipples. Kyle breaks the kiss to try to breathe, eyes fluttering at the overwhelming sensations. 

Nikolaj is still trying to rock up against him, almost unconsciously. His hands are hot on Kyle’s lower back, holding Kyle against him. Kyle’s scalp stings but it feels so  _ good _ with Patrik’s hand in his hair. He arches his back, pressing forward against Patrik’s other hand helplessly.    


Patrik catches his earlobe gently in his teeth, then kisses just below his ear. “What do you want?” he murmurs. His voice is a warm puff of air against Kyle’s skin.

Kyle looks at Nikolaj, sprawled beneath him with a flush on his face and his hair a mess on the pillow. Nikolaj looks up at him and bites his lip. He imagines the way his mouth would fall open, the  _ noises _ he would make if Kyle fucks him, muffling those noises with his own mouth. He wants it. 

Then Patrik presses closer to his side, lips warm against Kyle’s throat. His hands are so big on Kyle’s chest and Kyle imagines Patrik pushing him down on his stomach and fisting a hand in his hair while he fucks him. He wants that, too. 

“Both,” he says, his voice wavering. “I want—I want both of you. Together.” 

Nikolaj sucks in a breath, gaze flicking to Patrik then back to Kyle. He digs his fingernails into Kyle’s back. “How?” he asks. 

“I—Can I be in, um. The middle?” His face flushes red when he says it and he has to look away from Nikolaj’s face. He doesn’t miss the way Nikolaj gasps when he says it, or the way Patrik’s hand tightens in his hair.

They want it, too.

“You want to fuck Nik?” Patrik asks softly. 

“Yeah,” Kyle gasps, staring down at Nikolaj as he licks his lips. 

“And,” Patrik says, “you want me to fuck you.” He isn’t asking. 

“Please,” Kyle says, not even caring about how desperate he sounds anymore. 

Nikolaj squirms out from underneath him and rifles through the drawer of the nightstand. He pulls out lube and a pair of condoms and he drops the condoms near the pillow.

“Nikolaj likes it bare,” Patrik murmurs, “but we figured for you….” He trails off. 

“Don’t listen to him,” Nikolaj says, taking Kyle’s hand and spreading lube on his fingers. “It was his idea the first time. He’s possessive.” 

“Yeah,” Patrik agrees, plucking the lube out of Nikolaj’s hand, “and who wanted to do it like that, uh, forever?”

“Okay,” Nikolaj grumbles, “shut up.” He wraps his hands around the back of Kyle’s neck and pulls him down, pressing kisses against Kyle’s helpless grin. “C’mon, put your fingers in me,” Nikolaj mumbles against his lips. He spreads his legs wider and Kyle’s breathing stutters in his chest.

Patrik brushes Kyle’s hair to the side and kisses the back of his neck, the touch of his lips as soft as a butterfly’s wings. “Go on,” he says, reaching around with his dry hand to stroke Kyle’s cock. 

Kyle’s hips twitch up at the touch, but he tries to keep himself collected so he can press his slick fingers to Nikolaj’s hole. Nikolaj sighs and mutters something in Danish that Kyle has a feeling roughly translates to  _ get on with it. _

So he does.

Careful to keep an eye on Nikolaj’s face, Kyle slips one finger inside.

With the number of times Kyle has walked in on Nikolaj getting off, he thought he’d be prepared for any of Nikolaj’s reactions. He isn’t.

Nikolaj moans and arches his back like he wants more already, squeezing his eyes shut as he drops his head back against the pillow. His neck is pale and inviting and Kyle sucks a mark just above his collarbone, sliding a second finger into Nikolaj.

Patrik’s fingers are warm against Kyle’s skin and Kyle has to hold his fingers still, curled against Nikolaj’s prostate, and breathe against Nikolaj’s skin as Patrik presses a finger into him.

Nikolaj rolls his hips against Kyle’s hand and reminds him that he still has a job to do. He fucks Nikolaj with his fingers as well as he can, twisting and curling his fingers until Nikolaj is shaking. He presses a little harder each time Patrik does something particularly nice with his fingers. 

Just when the heat coiling at the base of Kyle’s spine starts to overwhelm him, Patrik pulls his fingers out. He pets Kyle’s spine with his dry hand until his breathing evens out. 

Patrik reaches around and takes Kyle’s wrist, pulling his fingers out of Nikolaj and getting a dirty look from Nikolaj in response. 

Nikolaj grabs the condoms and tosses one of them over Kyle’s shoulder at Patrik, then reaches down and puts the other one on Kyle himself. Kyle bites his lip hard at the touch, not wanting to embarrass himself.

Kyle pushes Nikolaj’s legs up and apart enough that he can line up and push in, trying to keep it slow and gentle. He wants to savor everything. Nikolaj whines at the first press of Kyle’s cock inside him, arching his back into it. His fingernails are bright points of pain against Kyle’s shoulders, keeping him grounded.

Patrik runs a hand up and down Kyle’s side when his hips are pressed to Nikolaj’s ass and each of his breaths ends on a whine. His skin is so sensitive that the lightest brush of Patrik’s lips against his shoulders makes him tremble. 

He doesn’t know if he can take more, but he wants to try. 

He rocks his hips into Nikolaj, slow and easy, settling himself before looking over his shoulder at Patrik. “You can,” Kyle says, cutting off with a gasp as Nikolaj squeezes around his cock. 

Patrik’s hand is tight on his hip. The head of his cock presses against Kyle and Nikolaj wraps a hand around the back of Kyle’s neck, pulling him down so their foreheads are pressed together. He nudges his nose against Kyle’s and Kyle moans into his mouth as Patrik pushes in.

Patrik takes one long, steady thrust to get all the way inside. He doesn’t move for a moment as he gets himself under control, then he draws almost all the way out before thrusting back in.

The force of the movement sends Kyle forward, too, and he ends up being pushed deeper into Nikolaj. Nikolaj muffles a cry against his mouth, his body jerking underneath Kyle. 

The combined sensations of Patrik inside him, working him over like he’s done it a thousand times, and Nikolaj hot and tight around his cock have Kyle on the edge faster than ever. He doesn’t think he’s ever been so loud during sex before.

It’s so  _ intense _ like this, Nikolaj letting out punched out sounds beneath him and Patrik’s hands hot on his waist as he fucks Kyle with hard, deep thrusts, rocking him forward into Nikolaj. It’s almost like Patrik is fucking both of them, and that thought has Kyle doubling over to bury his face in the crook of Nikolaj’s neck as he comes.

Patrik fucks him through it and Nikolaj strokes Kyle’s hair as he shakes on top of him. He murmurs nonsense comfort into Kyle’s temple and eventually Kyle has to tell Patrik to stop because it’s just too much.

Gently, Patrik pulls out and helps him lie down on his back. His eyes half closed, Kyle turns his head to watch. 

Patrik strips off his condom and hooks Nikolaj’s legs over his shoulders, pushing in smoothly. Nikolaj opens for him easily, twisting his fingers in the sheets as Patrik fucks him hard. 

If Kyle could get hard again, he would. As it is, he just watches, one hand tracing patterns absently over his own chest. 

He’s seen them fuck before, but it was always something accidental and he never saw much. This feels intimate because they  _ want _ him to watch, they’re putting on a show for  _ him. _

Nikolaj’s noises reach a crescendo as he spasms and comes untouched. A minute later, Patrik follows him over the edge. 

Kyle reaches over. His arm still feels like jelly, but he manages to stroke Patrik’s back until he collects himself enough to pull out.

Nikolaj whines when he does, his thighs twitching, and Kyle sees the way Patrik’s come leaks out of him.

“Fuck,” Kyle blurts, unable to stop himself. He moves closer and drops a hand between Nikolaj’s legs to feel it. 

Nikolaj shivers and grabs his face, pulling him into a soft, sleepy kiss. “You can do it someday,” Nikolaj says when they part. “Um. If you want.” He looks almost shy now that they’ve finished, even though Kyle’s hand is still between his legs and wet with Patrik’s come. 

“I want,” Kyle says. He kisses the tip of Nikolaj’s nose and makes him laugh. 

“Or,” Nikolaj says, dragging it out, “one of us could do you.” 

Kyle sucks in a sharp breath imagining Patrik or Nikolaj fucking him bare, marking him on the inside where nobody else will see. Nikolaj looks at him nervously, like he’s afraid he went too far.

“I want that, too,” Kyle says quickly, kissing Nikolaj sweetly. It already feels comfortable and natural, kissing them.

Patrik taps his shoulder, back from where he’d been disposing of the condoms. “Get up,” he says. “We have to shower.” 

“Mmm,” Nikolaj says, arching his back as he stretches. He laughs when Kyle and Patrik both stare, then settles comfortably against the mattress. “But I’m comfy.” He hooks an arm around Kyle’s neck and pulls him down, wrapping both arms around him like Kyle is an oversized teddy bear.

“Fine,” Patrik says, putting on a tone of affected disappointment, “I guess I’ll go by myself. Alone.” He gives them a mocking pout before going to the bathroom. “I won’t cuddle you if you’re gross,” he calls over his shoulder, then he shuts the bathroom door.

The water starts a moment later.

“Does he mean it?” Kyle asks. He’s comfortable with Nikolaj snuggled up to him like an octopus, but he wants Patrik to hold him, too.

“No,” Nikolaj says, but he doesn’t sound too sure. “I mean. Maybe a shower wouldn’t hurt.”    


Patrik looks unfairly smug when Kyle steps into the shower with him. It’s pretty obvious he knew they’d join him, but he pulls Kyle into a warm kiss anyway.

They wash up together, exchanging kisses and nothing more. 

Nikolaj wraps a towel around Kyle’s shoulders and uses it to pull him into a kiss. He nips Kyle’s lower lip before pulling away to towel his hair dry. Kyle grins at the tangled mess of Nikolaj’s hair. Nikolaj scowls at his amusement and gets both hands in Kyle’s hair and scrubs his hands through it until his hair is sticking up in all kinds of new and exciting ways.

Patrik coughs conspicuously. Kyle and Nikolaj turn to him to see his mouth twitch as he pushes down a smile. Kyle steps up close and kisses him, long and deep, then gets a hand in Patrik’s blond hair and messes it up before skipping back and following Nikolaj back to his bedroom.

Nikolaj’s bed is pretty massive, so it’s easy for Patrik to curl up behind Kyle and wrap an arm around his waist. Nikolaj tucks himself against Kyle’s chest, his nose cold against Kyle’s collarbone. He wraps an arm around Kyle, too, reaching out so he can rest his hand against Patrik’s side.

Kyle exhales, pressing his nose into Nikolaj’s hair. He feels warm and safe between them and it’s easy for him to drift to the edge of sleep.

He’ll probably wake up later, too hot and needing to move, but for now, he feels like he could stay like this forever.

**Author's Note:**

> i've just been horny about kc and his beautiful hair and nose the last few days. sorry everyone.
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/symphony7inAmaj)
> 
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